Combo Hunter version 2.0

Hey everybody. This is the second iteration of the combo hunter deck I built a couple weeks back.

If you have questions about the general play style please refer to the previous list's notes here: https://outof.cards/hearthstone/decks/16001-skydiving-gyrocopter-beastmaster-combo-hunter

This update will go over the parts of the deck that have changed, and what could still be potentially refined.

Secret Package:

Drawing secrets is so bad it's unbelievable, so to minimize this problem we've cut our secrets to 2x Explosive and 1x Misdirection.

Misdirection turns out to be a bit of a sleeper in this meta. It's particularly huge against demon hunter, since minions which hit the opponent's face due to misdirection will take damage from any equipped weapons. The most value I've ever gotten was from a stealthed Burrowing Scorpid killing itself on the DH's Warglaives. 

It is a little bit risky to be running 2x Phase Stalker with only 3 secrets in the deck, but we can always try to burn the second copy off of Tracking. 

Gyrocopter Package:

Unfortunately, Gyrocopter sucks. And since Gyrocopter is out, so too is Ursatron. However, Diving Gryphon is still the shit. We've subbed out the Copters and put in 2x Rusteed Raider and 1x Mok'nathal Lion in order to capitalize on Diving Gryphon, since only having 2 targets means the second one often misses.

The Mok'nathal Lion combos with our 2x Loot Hoarder. This is quite an important combo to remember when playing the deck, since every bit of draw counts. It sounds niche, but it's honestly something which comes up in many of my games. Try to hold back on Loot Hoarder if choosing between Novice and Hoarder, since we draw through our deck fast enough that this combo comes up most games.

Khartut Defenders:

Turns out having no heal in a combo deck kind of blows. Khartut is a strong defensive option which can help shut down DHs in a silence-less meta. Although this card does not draw and is quite clunky itself, it is so good nonetheless that I feel it warrants this inclusion.

Possible Future Changes:

The Skydiving Instructor Package has continued to feel powerful. A well timed Depth Charge too is absolutely crucial for many different matchups. Usually try to play it going into the opponent's turn 4 against DH, stopping the Satyr Overseer. It's also potentially powerful against Tempo Priest, since they try to make Imprisoned Minions which wake up and then die. Because of this, I have considered cutting 1 of the Sharpshooters to maximize the chances of Depth Charge. However, as demonstrated with the secret package, running 3 1 costs might make the Instructor miss too frequently. In addition, Sharpshooter is kind of just an excellent card on Turn 1.

The secret package is a little worrying. When looking at it, you kind of start to wonder how truly worth it the Stalkers are, when the HP damage is essentially trivial. Our deck doesn't need to chip that much damage to combo off, so it's basically just drawing a secret. Because the secret package is so small too, it often feels bad when drawing second Stalker. Also, Stalker is potentially the worst draw off of Ingenuity, since having Stalker live is generally not super important, because usually you'll only have one type of secret left in your deck when you first play it.

Looking at Khartut, I can't help but feel like something more synergistic would work better. I looked at Safeguard, the 6 mana 4/5 taunt from RoS. That card has stronger synergy with Lion, and potentially works well with Ursatron. This might be the next direction to take the deck, something which is more deathrattle based to capitalize off of Lion and even potentially Nine Lives. However, Safeguard is far worse against burn decks like Face Hunter.

Wrap-up:

Overall, the deck can definitely win games. I think our best matchups are control decks which don't taunt up much, so Highlander Mage. Galakrond Priest is only difficult if you fail to chip them down to 26, which is our max combo potential if we don't draw Krush off of Ingenuity (then we have 32 damage in one turn). Another nasty thing they can do is play grave rune on taunts. One time I had the whole combo assembled but they grave runed a Khartut and then I couldn't make it through. Plot Twist Warlock is surprisingly manageable, since they don't do anything in the early turns, their late game lacks big taunt minions, and their tapping leaves them vulnerable to the combo.

Against aggro this deck has issues, however, there are definitely smart plays to help against this. Explosive trap is huge against DH, so huge that it's almost worth keeping in the mulligan. It's at least something I need to be thinking more about. Depth Charge is also very important to keep in mind, but it's difficult to know when to time it. This matchup is also the biggest reason for running Khartut, which gives you necessary healing and taunt.

Lastly, Galakrond Rogue, which is a weird tempo/value deck, is generally favorable for us, since they lack taunts and they don't do that much damage. However, given that it is Galakrond Rogue, there is always the chance you get scammed out of your mind.

This deck is pretty bad, but it lets you do incredibly dank things. I'll continue reiterating this deck in the future, since I do believe it has potential.